Where ex-Sheffield United star Paul Coutts is playing now may surprise you | OneFootball

Sheffield United supporters will be surprised that Paul Coutts now plays in the fifth tier of Scottish football

Sheffield United have experienced a mixed journey in recent years, and were delighted when they won promotion to the Premier League in 2019, just two years on from lifting the League One title.

Since their promotion to the top-flight in 2019, the Blades have frequently bounced between the Premier League and the Championship, but prior to that, supporters had become accustomed to seeing their side in the third tier.

The South Yorkshire side's League One days witnessed the arrival of midfielder Paul Coutts, who joined the club in January 2015, and helped them to two promotions, but would leave before their recent time in the Premier League.

The Scot established himself as a crucial player for the Blades, but the Bramall Lane faithful may be surprised to hear where Coutts is plying his trade these days.

Where is Paul Coutts now plying his trade?

Intriguingly, the former Scotland youth international now plays for Inverurie Loco Works FC in the Scottish Highland Football League, who he joined in August 2023.

The midfielder also began his career north of the border, and was in the youth academy of hometown club Aberdeen, but he subsequently moved to Cove Rangers, for whom he would make his senior debut.

Coutts would eventually move to England in 2008, to join Peterborough United, and he instantly became a key first team player for Posh, as he made 37 appearances in League One, and helped his new club seal promotion to the Championship.

However, Posh struggled in the second tier, and suffered an unwanted return to the third tier at the first time of asking, but Coutts had performed well enough to convince Preston North End to secure his services ahead of the 2009/10 season.

He would go on to score one goal and produce five assists for the Lilywhites during the subsequent 2010/11 campaign, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Lancashire side from being relegated to the third tier.

Coutts made a further 41 appearances for the Lilywhites in League One, and would eventually join Derby, for whom he made just shy of 70 outings across two-and-a-half seasons before moving to the Blades.

Paul Coutts was a solid player for Sheffield United

After leaving the Rams in January 2015, Coutts went on to make 22 appearances for the Blades during the 2014/15 League One season, during which he also made three assists.

But the best was still yet to come for the Scot and the South Yorkshire side, as he scored two goals as well as creating six assists, which helped the Bramall Lane side on their way to the 2016/17 third tier title.

Coutts subsequently struggled for game time at Championship level with the Blades, making just 16 and 13 appearances during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons respectively, although supporters will always remember that he played a part as their club sealed promotion to the Premier League in 2019.

The midfielder then plied his trade for Fleetwood Town, Salford City and Bristol Rovers in both League One and League Two, while the fact he made 22 third tier appearances for the Gas during the 2022/23 campaign made his move to the fifth tier of Scottish football the following summer all the more surprising.

Not much is known about how Coutts is doing in Scotland's lower reaches, but with Inverurie being not far from the midfielder's home town of Aberdeen, it appears that he's happy to wind his career down back where he grew up.